1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to wireless communication systems and in particular to wireless communication systems incorporating dynamic process assignment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Short-range wireless communication and personal area networks will soon proliferate in common household products as well as mobile business products. Currently many products that have wireless capability are incompatible. Short-range wireless local area network (WLAN) protocols such as Bluetooth, HomeRF, and IEEE 802.11 provide an avenue towards compatibility. These short-range WLAN protocols operate at lower power and over shorter distances. These short-range WLAN protocols generally use unlicensed spectrum and require minimal coordination with the secondary communication protocol of the device (e.g., GSM, IS-95, IS-136, ReFLEX(trademark), etc.).
Short-range wireless communication can be, for example, provided using an Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication standard. IrDA is a point-to-point, narrow angle (30 degree cone), ad-hoc data transmission standard designed to operate over a distance of zero (0) to one (1) meter and at speeds of 9600 bits per second to 16 Mega bits per second. Similarly, the short-range communication can be provided using a Bluetooth communication standard. Bluetooth is a short range, point-to-multipoint voice and data transfer standard designed to operate over a nominal distance of ten (10) centimeters to ten (10) meters, but can be extended to one hundred (100) meters by increasing transmit power. Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 Gigahertz radio frequency range.
Short-range WLAN protocols such as IrDA and Bluetooth technology allow for the replacement of the many proprietary cables that connect one device to another with one universal short-range radio link. Short range WLAN protocol technology could replace the cumbersome cables used today to connect a laptop to a cellular telephone or between other devices such as printers, personal digital assistants, desktops, fax machines, keyboards, joysticks or virtually any other digital device. Refrigerators, microwave ovens, dish washers, laundry washers and dryers, stereo, television, digital video disks, video games, lighting, irrigation, cooling and heating systems among others may also take advantage of such short-range radio links.
Potential applications of these low-power, short-range, protocols are wireless connection of peripherals devices, high-speed data transfers to desktop computers and wireline networks, and establishment of short-range xe2x80x9cad hoc networksxe2x80x9d between similar wireless communication devices. Two or more units sharing the same channel is called an ad hoc network. In an ad hoc network one of the units functions as the master while the others function as slaves. For example, in a Bluetooth system, up to seven active slaves can exist in an ad hoc network but many more can remain locked to the same master in a so-called parked state. These parked units cannot be active on the channel, but remain synchronized to the master. The master always controls the channel access for both the active and the parked units. The master in a Bluetooth system controls the traffic across the channel using a polling scheme. Once an ad hoc network has been established, master-slave roles can be exchanged. To avoid collisions, communication between two slaves can only be accomplished through the master unit.
Many short-range communication WLANs such as the Bluetooth system further supports scatternets. A scatternet is the combination of two or more ad hoc networks with overlapping coverage area. Each ad hoc network can only have one master. However, a master in one ad hoc network can participate as a slave in another and slaves can also participate in different ad hoc networks on a time division multiplex basis. Ad hoc networks within a scatternet are not time or frequency synchronized. Each ad hoc network uses its own hopping sequence.
The devices participating in an ad hoc network each include different processes capabilities. For example, some have more processing power, some have access to an unlimited power source, and some include a variety of powerful applications. Further, usage profiles vary for each device. For example, printers may have a low usage profile and thus have some additional free computing time. Similarly, the personal computer in an office may have a high usage profile but may be the only device that has a particular application on board. One personal computer may have access to a higher speed modem.
What is needed is a system and method for dynamically assigning processes within a WLAN such as an ad hoc network to optimize the shared capabilities of each individual unit within the network.